The heating boiler wishes its water system to be treated
The heating boiler wishes its water system to be treated
Nowadays a typical home is fitted with dozens of automatic appliances and systems to provide homeowners with a convenient life. Irregardless of which you choose, you should take proper care of your central heating system, only then can it perform efficiently. We have all heard the advice from the Government and environmental agents telling us to turn off our lights, turn off televisions and not leaving them on standby, and reducing our washing machine temperature and room thermostats. All of these are effective ways of saving energy which will not only help environmentally but also reduce many household energy bills. But what about getting your central heating system to work more efficiently? The build up of gunk and limescale deposits in your central heating system will cause it to run less efficiently.
You should be thinking about water treatment to stop this accumulation of sludge and limescale, especially if you live in a hard water area.
The term ‘water treatment’ is one that is used to describe various methods of taking care of your system. A wide range of water treatment products including scale reducers and inhibitors, magnetic and electronic lime fighters, sludge removers, noise reducers and anti-freeze are available.
Living in the UK means that depending on whereabouts you are in the country, your water can range from hard to soft. If you are living in hard water region, then you will be more susceptible to limescale attacks; you can notice deposits in your kettle, tap and shower head. Limescale not only reduces the efficiency of your system, but also increases your heating bills. A thin layer of limescale can increase your fuel bills by 40 percent. Limescale is nothing, but calcium deposits in your central heating system. Although those living in soft water areas will not have to take as many provisions, if you are unsure you should still get professional advice.
The way that most water treatments work is by changing the molecular structure of the water’s particles which, in turn alters the way it behaves. Some will change one structure for another, others remove the offending structure and another will stop them from being able to make a solid leaving them in suspension.
You can find out the ph and chloride, iron and copper levels with chemical test kits, which will allow you to measure the likely corrosion rate in your system.
It is very important to make sure that your system is put in by someone who knows what they’re doing as they will be aware of things like not connecting aluminium to copper or brass, which can cause corrosion. The gas connections should be made only by a trades person, who is Gas Safe registered (with CORGI).
If you anticipate hard water problems, you can fit out your new central heating system with a suitable water treatment attachment. If you are revamping the old system, you should rinse out the whole system before adding the water treatment method.
The mains water supply provides water to the heating systems, one can fix various other systems with the mains supply in order to deal with the problem of hard water, however these systems that soften the water work only for your household, they don’t do much about the problems associated with the central heating system. They will help make detergents and soaps lather more readily but do not help in the fight to get your heating system working efficiently.
With regards to heating systems, you have to prevent three important things viz,limescale, corrosion and biological growth.
Corrosion can begin immediately after the water starts to fill up the system from the main source after installation. One of the symptoms of corrosion is cold spots in your radiators because sludge in the system prevents the water circulating properly. It can cause pinholes in the radiators and if left can cause the boiler to become noisy.
Limescale results from the presence of calcium and magnesium in water, hard water regions have these elements more than the rest of the country. When the water is heated, these minerals deposit, forming a hard crust that grows with time and blocks the pipes. Limescale can again make the gas central heating system noisy.
Fungal and bacterial growth is another menace to vented heating systems. This problem occurs when tanks are open as they are in certain types of central heating system. After the biological matter gets into the tank it begins to breed and produces gunk and slime. In addition to the tank, they grow into the pipes and block them; thereby the efficiency of the system is further reduced.
You can learn more about these problems on the internet. Take a look at this for a few minutes to improve your awareness. It is recommended that you begin with the manufacturers of the various systems. You can find a list manufacturers and the popular items they carry in this site. Blogs also offer ample source of free help and information or you can contact the companies with any questions.
All the best with your water treatment, let energy conserving heating and hot water with lower household bills rule.